So long as stringed instruments have existed there has been a need to adjust the tension of the strings. One familiar practice for adjusting the string tension has been to mount rotatable winch-like devices at the end of the neck so that each string may be individually adjusted by turning a knob. These individual tensioning devices are often referred to as tuning machines or tuners. Of importance to musicians is such string tensioning tuners be easily and individually accessible to the fingers because of a need and desire to often adjust and readjust the tension of strings.
Stringed instruments such as guitars are often carried on airplanes by musicians. Thus it is of interest to many that these instruments be compact. However, while compactness is desired, the need to easily grasp and turn each tuner knob must be maintained. Various U.S. patents reveal the efforts of prior inventors to provide more compact tuner solutions. In 1904 Henzi in U.S. Pat. No. 778,129 offset worm gear tuners to increase the density of strings in zithers. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,216,601, Nelson spaced the tuners close together and offset the knobs in a lap guitar. This made individual knobs more accessible and knobs could be larger to reduce the turning forces needed. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,523,963, Mitchell fanned out the tuners to increase the space between the knobs. Mitchell shows what today is called a headless guitar with the tuners mounted in the guitar body, behind the bridge, and the guitar head stock is reduced in size. Steinberger in U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,904 uses a screw thread string tensioning system rather than worm gears tuners in a headless guitar. The '904 threaded tuners are mounted in a row behind the bridge in line with the strings. In Middleton, US2017/0193973A1, worm gear tuners are stacked in several compact configurations.
A common compact or travel guitar is a headless guitar with the string tension adjusting tuners mounted behind the bridge in the guitar body. Locating the tuners in the body is not ideal because the same hand used to pluck a string must then also adjust string tension. Also, the body mounted tuners can have small, closely spaced adjustment knobs that are difficult to access. These detriments are validated by how few musicians use these travel guitars for performing on stage. The ideal compact travel guitar would be shorter than a standard electric guitar and yet be easily and stably tuned and have equal or better tone quality than a standard electric guitar.